Thief's Treasure
by Chilo
Summary: Rosette Christopher's life changes when Chrono, a devil thief, kidnaps her for reasons she can't explain and even more reasons he won't share. What he has in plan for her can ruin her life, or possibly even end it. But, he can't go through with it.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm telling you, Rosette, he's some unworldly creature

Disclaimer: Don't own Chrono Crusade, but I do own the plot for this AU.

**Repost Edit: **Supposedly, this entire thief thing was originally from DNAngel and Loki Ragnarok (wow, never heard of 'em). I've modified it to make it not really seem like that. Instead, Chrono steals whatever he can get his hands on for the Astral Energy store within them, which I had really planned for the artifacts. Meaning, there won't have to be a contract. Or will there? xD

Any who, thanks to OtherCat1 for letting me know that.

Continuing!

A/N: Well, yeah. Sorry to those of you who are still waiting for an installment for "A Weary Watcher." It's just that I have this story more thought out from beginning to end, and decided to start writing it down. Well, here you are. Chapter 1 of lots to come.

--

**Chapter I**

**I Want You**

--

"I'm telling you, Rosette, he's some unworldly creature! No one can do the stuff he's doing!" The blond spoke in a high-pitched, excited voice, cyan-clear eyes beaming brightly. He sounded almost too excited. All Rosette Christopher could do was stare at her brother with growing annoyance residing in her belly, pretending like she was listening.

Yes, it was just another normal day at school. When talk started around New York's own Foothill High, it never really seemed to die down until something new came up to overpower the last word that practically everyone knew about. She couldn't believe what it was this time. Joshua shoved pictures in her face, all of which looked awkwardly taken and blurry. She couldn't make out any of the dark smudges. The girl tilted her head, raising a questioning brow.

"What're these?" She inquired, regretting it immediately.

"C'mon, can't you make it out?" Joshua waved the pictures back in forth, making Rosette even more unable to clarify the images. She rolled her eyes, looking towards another direction. "No, I can't. If it's your work of photography, it looks like crap even more than it's supposed to." She retorted bitterly. Rosette was sick of everything crowding her day lately, and she wasn't about to put up with another extending discussion with her brother.

Joshua only grunted, sliding the pictures onto her desk, making her look down at the slight disturbance that had been jabbed into _her_ space.

"It's pretty much everything lately, Rosette. _Chrono_?" She studied the picture a bit more, murmuring slang words and disgusted sentences under her breath. "Looks nothing like the creep." She finalized, glancing away quickly. "When and how did you even take those?" Rosette found herself quietly asking.

"Give me credit, sis. I caught him in flight!" She groaned.

"And if I give you a positive review on your photography, would that make you want to pursue this as a career, as well as a side job of stalking? Because you're going to need a higher quality camera."

"I can't exactly say you're the best person to practice shooting on! You're totally unnatural. What's wrong with you?" Rosette flinched at his question, unable to speak thanks to her words getting caught in her throat.

"There's nothing wrong with me, and you should know that as well as anyone." She simply stated, impatiently tapping her finger on her desk.

"You gotta give this guy a spotlight! He's obviously not human, and he steals practically everything he gets his hands on! The authorities can barely find him because he's just everywhere these days. It sounds pretty cool, huh?" She sighed. Of course Joshua would be into this kind of stuff. He was a crowd walker, meaning he was into everything that other people were. Aside from his science-fiction obsession, he was pretty much quite the fitting person in an ordinary clique of people.

"No, as a matter of fact, it doesn't sound interesting." Rosette whispered dryly.

"If people hear you saying that, they're really going to push you out. The only reason they haven't is because of your looks, and I really don't know what people see in them."

She had to peer down at herself. She saw nothing special—just her school uniform, a gray skirt with a matching top. She had blond hair, and blue eyes. Nothing too special at all. She was totally oblivious to the fact that she was jaw-dropping gorgeous. Rosette shrugged.

"I don't really care. I like how I am right now, and I don't care about what's new, either." She turned away from her slightly disappointed brother. He grumbled something under his breath, fiddling with the pictures he had taken. "Besides, Azmaria doesn't mind very much that I'm not into these things. I don't think she really is either. I don't need anyone else to tell me otherwise, so she'll hang out with me." An image of the silver-hair girl flashed in her mind. Sure, she was simple, but she rejoiced the fact that she was willing to even talk to her. Rosette mentally sighed. She didn't understand the world, especially at times like this. Where they can just push you out because you don't like what others like and no one can relate to you. Just because she wasn't into what everyone else was, did it really mean that they could just give her funny glares? Why couldn't anyone just deal with the way she was? She liked herself perfectly fine.

--

After homework was done and there was pretty much nothing else to do, Rosette and Joshua found themselves lying on their couch at home, if you can call home a stubby apartment. Rosette had control over the remote to the television, blankly flipping through the channels. Joshua grunted each time he saw something interesting pop up, but Rosette paid no head to his whims. She continued to cycle through the channels, finally tossing the remote to the floor as she halted at the Disney Channel. Some sitcom about a rock star was on.

Rosette wasn't paying attention to the flashing images on the screen. She only caught slight jokes that ringed through the room, chuckling slightly to show she was at least listening. She was distracted with her usual worries of how she was going to continue paying for her bills. She'd kindly asked Azmaria's parents for small payments, but that seemed to get on their nerves, now. The Hendrics had plenty of money, and she didn't find any reason for them to hesitate in paying their bills, but she had to think it was getting annoying by now. Soon, she had decided, she'd take up a job. There were always simple openings for fast-food restaurants. Even if it was only a little support, she was willing to give it all she had. She couldn't just stand by and let them continue to support them all their lives. Both her and Joshua and pledged that they were going to get through college, however difficult things got. That'd definitely get the orphans onto their feet. And supporting each other like that would brighten things up.

Joshua moaned, getting annoyed at the attempts of humor in the show. He didn't find anything appealing.

"Flip to the news, sis." He nudged her with his foot, quickly making her angry as she pushed it away.

"Not interested in seeing the same thing over and over again." She mumbled lazily, also not wanting to reach for the remote she had tossed. Joshua sighed, turning over to stand up off the sofa and stretch.

"I'm going to bed, then." He nearly tripped over his pajama pants as he made his way towards the room.

"Turn off the light when you head over there." She added, though she really didn't need to. Joshua was already heading for the switch.

"Night." He shot behind his shoulder before disappearing behind a door not too far away. Rosette didn't answer. She just watched him softly close the door behind him. Her icy blue gaze slid back to the television set. She was no longer aware of what was occurring on the screen. Rosette sighed, ignorant to the fact that her eyelids were slowly drooping. At a commercial break, her breathing had slowed. She slipped into a somewhat half-asleep state.

Without a sound, the back window had parted open with an invisible force. Claw-armed fingers soon appeared at the ledge, pulling it to the side. The figure stealthily slid in, minding to set down the screen he had removed under the window's pane. The finger was ghastly, in a way. Golden-hued eyes shone through the dark clutches of the room, the only light being the ever-dim moon and the television set. Black wings perturbed from his back, giving the hint that he clearly wasn't human. Long ears stretched from his head, and horns toppled it all off. The creature was dressed in red and black clothing, his abdominal section clear in view. He had a silver-plated neck brace and similar-looking elbow braces. His pants were a silver shade, built uniquely compared to any other pair of pants. The silver part was as long as a pair of shorts, blending into a dark red that ended with his boots. Violet bangs hung down his face, hair in the back only going towards his shoulders and stopping.

He'd automatically guessed that someone was on the couch because of the television, which was beaming. The figure carefully slid over to the sofa, indeed peering down and seeing a particularly half-asleep blond. He leaned over the side to steal a better peek at the young girl. She lazily turned her head to inspect him briefly, making him freeze. Her azure eyes widened quickly as she rolled off of the couch, yelping with surprise. He narrowed his aurelian eyes slightly, imagining the trouble this might cause now that she had seen him. He was definitely careless these days.

Rosette stood in her own shock as he watched her with growing amusement. A burst of realization sparked across her. "Y…you're that Chrono guy!" She exclaimed.

He lifted an index finger to his lips, trying to stop his smile from growing anymore. He gave a half-hearted 'shhh' to warn her to keep her mouth shut.

She slowly stood up, holding her ground with an iron fortress. "You creep!" she murmured, not minding his warning to be quite, but for Joshua's sake, she kept her voice down. Chrono twitched at her insult. "What're you doing here!?"

The bitterness in her voice made the thief shrink back in slight disappointment. It didn't make sense! Pretty much all of the girls in the world loved him, so how should this she be any different?

"You're Rosette Christopher, right?" He ignored her question, regaining himself.

"What if I am?"

"Then you're going to be coming with me, please."

She scoffed, sliding over to her left, the direction of the rooms as well as the door out of the apartment. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

He sighed. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't give me any trouble."

"Well, I'm not going with you." She wanted to yell, but forced her voice to stay at a whisper.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice."

"Did you hear me?"

There was a small silence that engulfed both.

"Look, if you _don't_ come with me, there will be a conflict from others. With me would probably be the safest place in the world for you right now."

He jumped over the couch, causing her to edge more to her left. His strides became long, causing her to stumble over to the wall, her back against it in growing fear. She reached to her left, only able to grasp a dusty vase that was perched on the small table for decoration. She held it up like a weapon, disgusted at her pitiful attempt to look intimidating. Now, if she had a kitchen knife or perhaps a gun, this might have worked more in her favor. He blandly stepped forward, using his clawed index finger to slide the art away from his face. Unintentionally, her grip on it became weak. He placed it back on the table, smirking deviously. He placed his right hand on the wall at her side in hopes of preventing her from getting ideas about escaping.

"You shouldn't be doing things like that. It makes you seem less cute. Now, if you'll just come along qu—"

Rosette ducked under his hand and turned the corner, braking off into a full-on sprint towards the door, leaving Joshua because he obviously wasn't what Chrono wanted. She soon felt the sour sensation of regret thinking about all the possible things Chrono could have done to him. There was no way she was going to cope with going with a thief, though! He was a rotten, untrustworthy, inhuman, inconsiderate, flirtatious, back-stabbing idiot! Well, she didn't know about half of the stuff she had managed to name off. Probably all of them.

Chrono sighed and with a seemingly single step, he was in front of her once again. He halted in front of Rosette, who sloppily collided into him.

She grunted with flickering fury. "What do you want from me?" Rosette tried to bitterly retort, but instead, it came out as a whimper.

The thief only smirked. Rosette froze up as his hand lightly brushed over her bangs on her forehead.

"I want _you_, Rosette Christopher."

--

A/N: Haha, wait till you know what he really wants. Biiiig twist. If you stick to it long enough, then just maybe you'll find out, huh?

Hope the edit was alright.

Please review, it really does help. )

Until next time!

Chilo


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own Chrono Crusade, but I do own the plot for this AU.

A/N: I suck, I know I do. I had this written out and everything, then I got a virus on my computer, and boom. Gone. Had to erase everything. It totally moved me out of the mood, but I'm going to retry, now.

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**Chapter II**

**Comfortless**

--

"Me?" She was appalled. Disgusted.

The thief could only nod, grinning smugly. "You see, you're quite important. It'd be lovely if you can cooperate a bit more."

Being her old, reluctant self, she hesitantly shook her head. Frustration slowly seeped into him. At his side, his hand balled into a fist. Yet he gently swiped his right hand down her cheek. His aurelian optics narrowed into slits, seeming to turn into gold on fire. He shifted his weight, allowing himself to lean forward carefully. Rosette had already been totally frozen. She wasn't sure of what was going on anymore.

His voice came smooth, soothing and dangerous. "Then sleep, my dear."

The blond was unable to control her suddenly heavy eyelids. She struggled desperately to keep them open and alert, but nothing availed. Before she had slipped into an unconscious state, he pulled her into his hard grasp. Her brain couldn't recall exactly what he'd done next. But an illusion or dream revealed to her that he took a second to embrace her and inhale her scent. It better have been a dream. She shuddered. Stupid pervert…

--

Rosette tossed onto her side, expecting to wake from her dream fairly soon. She was already half asleep, slowly returning to reality. She buried her face into the couch cushion, sighing. When she drew in another breath, she noticed a foreign scent. Her cobalt eyes shot open. She realized an unfamiliar pattern on the sofa she was lying on. She turned her body once again, gazing around an awkward-looking room.

The place itself seemed ancient. She immediately felt over dated and unbelongful. The walls were a deep shade of maroon, only lit softly by more modern lighting. The dull lights made the paint stand out more, illuminating the rest of the room with an uneasy tint. Mahogany-cut chairs stood close by at a small table, sanded delicately by perhaps the finest crafters. The most unfitting yet fitting paintings dotted throughout the walls. Some revealed an interesting artistic view, a splatter of what looked like brown blood onto backgrounds of black, barely enabling the brown to be seen. A persian rug was spread out onto the dark brown carpet, spitting out so many different designs and colors, somebody could get lost walking on it.

She was about to inspect her surroundings a bit more when voices outside pinned her to the couch.

"Already, Chrono?" A standard voice called. It was ruffled, but she could clearly hear the curiosity in the tone. "My, my, record timing!"

The devil thief's tenor voice annoyingly shot back. "I could care less, your business here, but not while I have _her._" There was a pause. "What do you want?"

Immediately, she wished she could just back out of the conversation. Eavesdropping never got a single soul anywhere, so she really didn't want to hear what these guys had to say.

"Well, are you really going to leave me out of this?" Returned the voice, pleading trailing onto the words. "Perhaps you can finally show me how you plan on getting that power out." A grunt. "I don't find it fair at all. You got the last one, and always refuse to share with me how you managed to do it."

She flinched at the angry devil thief's snort. "Maybe next time." He bit with obvious sarcasm. A frusterated sigh laid wait in the air.

"You know, I do have the power to banish you from Hell, little _'brother.'_" The voice backed, laced with venom. She couldn't see how this was the voice just seconds ago that had been pleading Chrono for answers. It sent shivers down her spine, even though she was all the bit warm in her spot.

"You've enough power. If you plan on killing Pandimoneom, then I suggest you return to to plan." Chrono copied the other man's voice with an equal amount of venom.

"I'm all ready, Chrono. And who doesn't need extra power around these parts? If you can just hand her over, you can be looking at the most powerful devil that ever exsisted." Hints of persuation blanketed the venom.

"No thank you, I'm quite selfish." The blond could practically hear the smirk in his tone.

"Fine, fine. I wont stop asking, though. And I guess I can't kill you. You're useful to me, but your stuborness is quite the pain in the ass." Swishes of churning wind erupted from the silence that had drowned out both noises. She wasn't able to hear Chrono's last word to his vistor, muffled by the sudden gust. The door peaked open, immediately telling her to close her eyes. Heavy footsteps started across the room, stopping in front of her. Though she might have regretted it, she turned on her side, facing the back of the couch, away from the devil's gaze that might have been inspecting her thoroughly.

"Rosette Christopher?" Her breathing froze. "Wake up, sweet heart." She thought the might barf, his voice was so smooth. But, she was relieved that he hadn't noticed she'd been awake this whole time. She faked a tired groan, turning back towards the source of his voice was coming from. She peeled open a cobalt orb, not needing to fake surprise at how incredibly close he was to her. She jumped up, sliding to the back of the couch, yelping.

The thief smirked, amused at her reaction. He placed both his hands either side of her, trapping her in the spot she sat. His honey-tinted eyes bore into her searchingly. Chrono leaned in, their eyes centimeters apart. "Comfortable?" He smothered in a charming tone.

Her body heat blazed. The Christopher's face seemed to light on fire with a tint of red. "W-w-w-w…" She couldn't find words. Instinctively, though, she reacted. "You pervert!" She pushed her hands forward. She knew she would have never budged him, had he not moved willingly back, surprised. His violet brows pulled down in confusion.

"Do you know how many girls would kill to be in your position?" He inquired, showing disappointment.

"The stupid ones! Which seems to be a very large majority of them!" She scooted down the length of the couch, on the spot as his eyes followed her.

"Well, it was a question."

"No! I am not comfortable!" He really wanted to know? She gave it to him.

The devil frowned. "How can I make you more comfortable, then?"

She blanked out at the stared at him in growing annoyance. "You can let me go." Chrono let out a hearty chuckle, which completely made her sick. So, he thought she was joking?

"I can't let you go, honey. That'd be too easy." He turned and swiftly sat on the couch, scratching at his head, in thought. "Perhaps some basic necessities? A tour?"

"I don't need a tour, and I'm sure as hell not going to let you buy me clothes." She felt like she knew this house already, anyway. It looked like something from a horror movie, the way everything was lit.

He snapped his fingers, as if a light bulb just clicked. "Ah! Clothing!" She wanted to drop to the floor. Had that not come in mind?

"I'll get you some clothing… how about entertainment?" She tried not to take note of the 'get' in his sentence.

"Entertainment? Let's see…. a car will do. A fast one that has unlimited miles so I can help myself out of here." Unsatisfied, he scoffed. He lifted himself from the couch, standing and stretching like he'd been sitting forever.

"I don't think I'm doing much use asking you these questions." Oh no, he figured out her plan. When would she be able to throw her bucket of sarcasm?

"So, I'll take you to the store. But, not today. I want to you get used to where you're going to be staying for a while. I need to get some shopping done, anyway." He sounded like a valley girl trapped in an evil, sadistic, pervert, devil thief's body.

"So you're going to leave me here?" Would he be so open as to trust her?

"Of course." He smiled at her. "You have no idea where you are, anyway. Why should I worry? And plus, if you try to run away, I'll just track you down again. I doubt you'd get very far, though. Oh, and good luck finding your way back to the city." He waved a hand behind him as he started for the door.

"Oh, and I might be careful if I were you." He paused at the door, hand trailing down its side frame. She peered at him quizzically, defeated and homesick.

"This house is known to be haunted."

The blond bore holes into the devil as he softly closed the door behind him. Despite his care with the old frame, it squeaked horridly. She flinched, clutching onto the blanket at her thighs. The sudden stagnant feel of the air sent chills down her spine. All though she lacked in believing any type of stories on ghosts or hauntings, she found her gaze wondering the room and down into the dark hallway. The lighting in the room didn't help the mood much at all. The diffused glow of the lamps made it easier for her mind to see things. She gulped loudly, backing herself tighter into the couch corner.

Judging by the entire layout of the room—the ceiling, flooring, and even the choice of carpeting—immediately told her that her surroundings were more than one hundred years old. The tall grandfather clock striking a desolate tick through the atmosphere confirmed her thoughts. One of the fine pieces—that managed to look so creepy—in a house like this checked that it was perhaps full of more similar antiques. It got her wondering how old Chrono was. Anything to get her mind off of the clicking light down the hall that was flashing on and off. Once she had noticed what she'd tried to get her mind off of, it sent a rush of ice down her veins. Her body shuddered as she watched the light flicker to life and die again.

_Oh, hell no…_

She slipped off of the couch, unable to tear her gaze from the hallway. She let out a shaky sigh, edging towards the door. She gripped onto the knob of the door, opening it without a second thought.

She hurriedly toppled out, unprepared for the stairs that had been on the wooden-lined porch. Rosette nearly flew off and hit the floor, had her evasive actions not cut that short. She stepped out just in the nick of time, placing her foot out in front of her. Her world leaped, surprised by the sudden vanish in flooring. She let out a relieved sigh.

With a quick inspection of the outside, she felt all of her relief slip out. Unfamiliar patterns of trees dotted around her, dense looking foliage covering beyond. The sun was setting, casting a hideous shadow across the view, eating away the reflecting lights that had touched everything up during day.

She wondered out towards a single eucalyptus, not a single idea of escaping on her mind. Rosette angled her body, sliding her back down the rough bark. The ancient house before her loomed with the shadows of the unseen sunken sun. A breeze chilled through the air, making her brows furrow in discomfort. The remembered the devil thief's inquiry on her comfort. No, she wasn't comfortable at all.

She wrapped her arms around her in a measly attempt at warmth. She scanned over the windows in the house she had been in moments ago. Indeed, there was a flickering light in one of the rooms she had guessed was further down the hall that she had been spectating. The blond pulled her knees to her chest, inclining her head to rest upon them. No, she wasn't comfortable.

--

It felt like hours had passed. The sky took on a darker side, blanketing everything with a soft hint of moonlight. Rosette Christopher stood outside, watching the old estate with drooping eyes. She couldn't count the seconds that had gone by. The minutes. The hours. Chrono must have been taking his sweet time. Joy.

She laid her head onto her folded arms, planted on top of her knees. Could life get any worse? Being kidnapped by a devil thief, learning yet not learning his intentions, and being left alone for hours with a haunted house to keep you company sounded as bad as it got. She sighed helplessly. Someone hated her.

Sharp points softly glided over her shoulder. It made her jump out of her skin, quickly breaking a chilling sweat. Aurelian, honey-soaked orbs met her frightened stare. Chrono had his hand extended, amusement clear in his expression. He was kneeling down next to her, his own shoulder to the tree trunk.

She found nothing funny.

"What're you doing out here, sweet heart?" He cocked his head, softly leaning against the tree. He searchingly scanned over her, brows arched in more curiosity than amusement. She couldn't find any words for the moment, disbelieving of his previous actions. The devil thief frowned. "Are you alright?" his inquiry soothed towards her.

"F-fine." She stuttered. She was still shaking from his sudden touch as she brought up her wrist to swipe at her forehead. Unconvinced, he leaned off the tree. He inched towards her, sweeping her from the cold floor. She yelped, astonished. He carried her bridal style back to the porch of the house, ignoring her fighting words.

"I'm fine, okay!" She managed strongly.

"There seems to be nothing here… why'd you leave the house? It's dangerous outside." He casually shouldered open the door, the room seeming unchanged as he place her on a nearby seated chair.

She didn't want to admit it, but she had been a little surprised, if not shocked… well, no. Sudden realization hit the devil thief's eyes.

"Ah." He smirked deviously. "The hauntings." She mustered a small nod. She felt pathetic. "You're cute." He slid a nail-tipped finger down her jaw line.

"There are no hauntings here. The circuitry is just a bit haywire these days. I'm guessing you've seen a few lights go on and off? You get used to it. Everything's fine." He reassured. At the same time, she felt sickened of his little act. Though she did relax, she couldn't get it out of her mind that he'd said a haunting was occurring—that there even was a haunting. That he even mentioned it. She pushed away his hand bitterly, unable to say anything to the man.

"You're disgusting."

"You better learn to like me, because you're going to around me for a while." He winked at her.

She really had no idea.

**A/N:** Heh.. there we are. I also wanted to mention a little more on the delay for this chapter. Lately, Chrono Crusade hasn't been my muse, and I usually have other things to do than write. I'm busy with some roleplay on a forum and I often visit some people on an MMORPG. But, I'll get as far into it as I can. I apologize if its bad.. I forced myself to write it.

**P.S.:** Due to some formating issues, I had to repost this chapter a couple of times. Sorry for that...


	3. Author's Note

**A/N: **I am discontinuing this story due to the explained reasons on my profile. I don't want to leave you guys hanging anymore, and the updates say everything. I'm so sorry if I got anyone excited, but I will not be continuing with this story.


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